ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • BEDSORE – Hypnagogic Hallucinations

    Have you ever wondered what would a union of classic Death, Obituary and old Opeth (Morningrise) sound like? Wonder no more for this Rome, Lazio Italian progressive death metallers have delivered something truly special and delicious with their debut full length "Hypnagogic Hallucinations", coming just 2 years after the eponymous demo (2018). The quartet consisting…

  • STARMEN – Kiss The Sky

    I’ve never got around to hearing the debut album "Welcome To My World" (notabene, released earlier THIS horrible year) but if it was anything like, this here, follow-up (coming out only a few months after the debut), I haven’t lost much. The Stockholm, Swedish quartet, featuring Kristian "Starmen Red" Hermanson (rhythm guitar, vocals), Andreas "Starmen…

  • ANGELCRYPT – Dawn of the Emperor

    Maltese melodic death metallers Angelcrypt are back with a new batch of groovy and rumbling tunes, and if you want songs that possess drive and contain fabulous leads and catchy melodies, “Dawn of the Emperor” is just what you need as this fucker packs a punch. These seasoned veterans have churned out a confident and…

  • LAUGHING STOCK – The Island

    The Norwegian act Laughing Stock dabbles in neo-progressive rock with prominent folk undertones to it, and this nine-song effort of theirs (eleven if you include the two bonus tracks) is quite interesting in that it is oftentimes gentle and mellow and yet darkness and melancholy constantly shimmer underneath the whole affair. The cool thing about…

  • FATAL FUSION – Dissonant Minds

    The Norwegian ensemble known as Fatal Fusion is back with a brand-new slab of atmospheric prog rock and as with previous efforts, this one contains plenty of interesting textures and layers. “Dissonant Minds” consists of four rather long compositions that all possess a nice raw edge and a truly organic vibe, and there are times…

  • BLACK ROSE MAZE – Black Rose Maze

    Black Rose Maze, which is spearheaded by the talented vocalist Rosa Laricchiuta who hails from the beautiful city of Montreal, is a current-sounding hard rock act whose tunes revel in big choruses, prominent keyboards, and heavenly female vocals. The whole thing is rather polished and professional-sounding but also a tad generic and uneventful. Even though…

  • RAMOS – My Many Sides

    The exceptionally skilled guitarist Josh Ramos (Hardline, Two Fires, The Storm) released this raw and dynamic solo offering of his a few weeks ago, and if you want crunchy riffs, crashing drums, and proper (melodic) hard rock spirit, “My Many Sides” might just be what you need. Album opener “Today’s the Day” rules, “Unbroken” is…

  • EN MINOR – When the Cold Truth Has Worn Its Miserable Welcome Out

    The hugely skilled ensemble known as En Minor, which hails from New Orleans and includes such renowned musicians as Jimmy Bower, Kevin Bond, and Phil Anselmo in its line-up, has just released its debut offering, and let me start this little review of mine off by stating that this is unarguably one of the most…

  • BLUE ÖYSTER CULT – 45th Anniversary – Live in London

    Ever since the legendary Blue Öyster Cult performed their self-titled debut LP in its entirety at the sadly missed Stone Free Festival in London back in 2017, I have harbored hopes that the show would one day be released in some way or another, so it is a treat to finally sit here holding the…

  • DUKES OF THE ORIENT – Freakshow

    Progressive rockers Dukes of the Orient, which is spearheaded by the talented John Payne (ex-Asia) and Erik Norlander (Last in Line), released a fabulous and eclectic record a couple of years ago that was as thrilling as it is was memorable, and the great news is that this 2020 opus of theirs is even better…

  • PIXIE NINJA – Colours Out of Space

    I distinctly recall being blown away by Pixie Ninja’s energetic and intense performance at the 2018 rendition of the Close to the Rain prog festival in Bergen and their debut offering (“Ultrasound”) was pretty damn cool too. This talented bunch is back with a brand-new record and there are two reasons why this stellar opus…

  • FORTUNE – The Gun’s Still Smokin’ Live

    The American AOR outfit Fortune made a name for themselves back in the mid-80s when they launched their self-titled debut album via Camel/MCA Records, and the band’s vocalist, Larry Greene, later appeared on the entertaining "Top Gun" soundtrack to which he contributed the tune entitled “Through the Fire”. The whole thing fell apart relatively quickly…

  • KRYPTOGRAF – Kryptograf

    Yes, this is just what I needed – a raw, fuzzy stoner rock/doom metal opus that harkens back to pioneering groups such as Black Sabbath, Pentagram, and Saint Vitus. Certain parts here even recall Blue Cheer and Jimi Hendrix, which is brilliant. If you want spaced-out, psychedelic riffs and wicked melodies, look no further than…

  • BLOODFEAST RITUAL – Altars Of Sacrifice

    Lately, there have been a mlutitude of new technical melodic death metal bands, particularly from The Artisan Era and Jon Asher’s Asher Media Relations. These bands usually oscillate between The Black Dahlia Murder, Arsis and early Revocation with various other elements such as old school death metal and they all, frankly, sound alike. So it…

  • ARCTIC RAIN – The One

    The skilled melodic rockers from Sweden known as Arctic Rain released this eleven-track effort via Frontiers quite recently and offer energetic hard rock packed with radio-friendly choruses. There are power chords and feel-good rockers aplenty here, but the sound is not quite as slick as that of many of their label mates, which is great.…

  • SERENE DARK – Enantiodromia

    Some time ago, Asher Media Relations’ manager Jon Asher had presented me with a deathened black metal (or blackened death metal) Ottawa, Ontario, Canadian project Endemise "for fans of Dimmu Borgir and Fleshgod Apocalypse" before their single "Anathema" sparked a minor interest in me, but the following "Anathema" full length never met my ears due…

  • OSYRON – Foundations

    Osyron’s five-track EP entitled “Foundations” is not only a melodically rich and highly diverse musical opus, but also pretty damn difficult to classify or label as it incorporates elements from hard rock, progressive rock, and groovy heavy metal with a modern sheen to it. However, one could argue that due to its epic feel and…

  • LIONVILLE – Magic is Alive

    AOR rockers Lionville recently released this eleven-track slice of melodic and atmospheric rock that reminds this writer of Pride of Lion’s excellent “Fearless” record from 2016. What the fuck does that mean? Well, we are talking instantly catchy riffs, vocal melodies that are easy on the ear, rather straightforward yet cool arrangements, and lyrics that…

  • PHOBETOR – When Life Falls Silent

    On my continuing search for fresh, unique and original sounds I came across this fairly new technical melodic groove London, British trio consisting of Debora Conserva (vocals), Mitch Revy (guitar), and Marc Dyos (drums) with session bassist, Richard Hunter, whose debut album "When Life Falls Silent", an offspring of the "Burning Memories" EP (2019), was…

  • PROFESSOR TIP TOP – Tomorrow is Delayed

    Ah yes, this is just what the good prog rock doctor ordered: a brand-new offering by the playful and eclectic (or is that eccentric?) purveyors of warm, moving music with a cosmic vibe to it. “Tomorrow is Delayed” by the Norwegian ensemble known as Professor Tip Top is exhilaratingly cool and lively, and there is…

  • EREMIT – Desert Of Ghouls

    Can you think of something more boring in music than a minimalistic sludge/doom nearly 70 minute long record? Yet that was precisely the case with Eremit’s debut "Carrier Of The Weight" (2018) album – 3 (too) long tracks of 1-2 riffs, spanning from 11 to a whopping 33 minute (!) length without a hint of…

  • WE SELL THE DEAD – Black Sleep

    The sophomore effort by the awesome Swedish act We Sell the Dead was released back in February this year but thanks to the bloody awful pandemic it did not show up in my mailbox until quite recently.  Yours truly was and still is fond of the band’s debut album, “Heaven Doesn’t Want You and Hell…

  • Shining Black Featuring Mark Boals & Olaf Thorsen – Shining Black

    Shining Black is a new musical collaboration between the hugely talented vocalist Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring of Fire, Royal Hunt) and skilled guitarist Olaf Thorsen (Vision Divine, Labyrinth) where the emphasis is on melodic (power) metal consisting of thick, heavy riffs and a muscular, powerful production.    First of all, Boals sounds great here…

  • OČI VLKA – Demo

    Out of the blue comes the debut demo, (informatively named Demo) from this Chomutov, Czech Republic black/death metal band whose name translates as Eyes Of The Wolf (or perhaps Eyes Of A Wolf since Slavic languages have no use of the definite and indefinite articles). The record is as strange as the fact that the…

  • CRYFEMAL – Eterna Obscuridad

    The twisted Spanish black metal duo known as Cryfemal has been a productive one and quite a few releases have seen the light of day since its inception back in the late 90s. “Eterna Oscuridad” is the outfit’s latest offering and is comprised of nine dark hymns that revel in filth and despair. Raw to…

  • HEBOIDOPHRENIE – Cannibalism for Dummies

    The French act Heboidophrenie offers tight, semi-technical, and sharply executed deathcore/death metal that is as catchy as it is vile and suitably gory. The infectious riffs, crushing breakdowns, and gut-piercing drums all work like a charm while the varied vocals get the job done in an effective and efficient manner. Is “Cannibalism for Dummies” original…

  • MICHAEL GRANT & THE ASSASSINS – Always the Villain

    Former L.A. Guns guitarist Michael Grant recently released this energetic output of his via Frontiers Records and this is one of those raw and raunchy records that is quite difficult to classify or categorize. In many ways, “Always the Villain” is a modern-sounding hard rock album that sounds current while simultaneously paying tribute to some…

  • MAGGOT HEART – Mercy Machine

    Maggot Heart’s heart and soul, the proudly female Swedish guitaris and vocalist Linnéa Olsson is a fascinating character. Unashamedly, even militantly feminist, Linnéa once said she’d hand out Maggot Heart switch-blade knives to all women and encourage them to use them so they can all take back every city which she’d claim was rightfully theirs…

  • BLOODY HEELS – Ignite The Sky

    The Latvian hard rock combo named Bloody Heels is a relatively young outfit in the sense that the band was formed in 2012 and then released an EP two years later followed by a full-length album in 2017. On top of that, these guys have toured the European circuit and from listening to this brand…

  • DEEP PURPLE – Whoosh!

    British hard rock pioneers Deep Purple surely need no introduction and so I am not going to spend any of your precious time walking you through their rich and illustrious history. Instead, let us turn our attention to this upcoming record of theirs entitled "Whoosh!", which contains thirteen wonderful compositions that are as elegant as…